We began our tour as usual after the cathedral bells had stopped ringing. It was a few minutes after 12 noon.
We had barely taken a few steps away from the green sign, our starting point on Schlossplatz, when two extremely out of breath persons ran up. Red faced, panting, it took them a few minutes to catch their breath and gasp "Dresden Walks?". "We're sorry for being late, but could we still join in?"
Turns out, they had taken the 8:52 train from Berlin and arrived in Dresden at 11:36 am. That left them with 24 Minutes to get to our meeting point. They decided to walk. Actually 24 minutes is good enough. I have even had a young girl with a suitcase on wheels manage to walk all the way and get there on time from the station. What delayed them was standing in line to buy tickets for the tour. They needn't have, as we could have done that directly before the tour.
In case you are planning to walk to our meeting point as well, it may be helpful to have exact directions. So here they are. Hope you find them helpful.
Getting
to our meeting point from the main station (Hauptbahnhof)
By
tram: Take either tram number 8 (in the direction
Hellerau) or 9 (in the direction Kaditz) from Hauptbahnhof Nord. Get off at the
stop ‘Theaterplatz’. On your right will be the Cathedral. Walk along the
Cathedral and around it till you come to a large open square called Schlossplatz.
Look for wide steps leading up to a terrace. At the bottom of these steps, to
the right is the green board of Dresden Walks. This is the meeting point.
Trams come approximately every 10 minutes. Travel
time is about 8-10 minutes.
Tickets: Buy a ticket on the tram or on the tram
stop from yellow vending machines. If buying it from the tram stop, punch it in
to validate it as you enter the tram.
A single journey (Einzelfahrt) will cost
2.20 € and is valid for an hour.
If you plan to use public transport for the
rest of the day buy a Day ticket (Tageskarte) instead for 6€.
Look for the Family ticket (Familien-tageskarte) option
if you are 2 adults (travel for children below 14 years is free with this
ticket). It costs 8.50 € per family.
On
foot: Exit the main station towards Prager Strasse/Wiener
Platz. Cross the tram lines (7 and 10) and continue walking in the direction of
Prager Strasse. You will find yourself on a pedestrian path along long glass
fronted buildings with shops. All you have to do now is to keep walking this
straight path for about 1 km (20 minutes) till you come to Schlossplatz, a
large open square just before the river and the bridge.
During this walk you
will be crossing two main streets with tram lines. Each time just cross the lines and the main road and
continue straight on.
Once at Schlossplatz look for wide steps leading up to a
terrace. At the bottom of these steps, to the right is the green board of
Dresden Walks. This is the meeting point.
Here is a google maps URL to show you how easy it
is.
Note: Our tours begin at Schloss Platz every day. At 10:30 am in the German langauge and at 12 noon in English.
If you have booked though the Tourist Information Office you will be asked to wait there till picked up by us at 11:45. We then walk to the meeting point, wait there for the others to arrive till 12:00 and then begin.
Is there anything else you need information on? Please write in and ask!
